ATI cards

[Killajaz]

Looking to build a media center/gaming rig.

Spec is done, however I am stuck as to which card to buy.
To me it seems the X800XL and GTO cards are much better value for móney than the new X1600XT.
Main argument would be that the X1600 only has a 128bit memory bus whereas the X800's have 256 which I believe outweighs the faster clock speeds of the X1600.
Or am I talking a load of babbelocks?

 

[oweneades]

You are correct. The X1600 is a bit of a flop due to its memory Bus and questionable Shader ability.

It has only 4 pipes with 3 ALU's per pipe (1 ROP / 1 TMU) This gives it a 12 pixel processor performance.

This is the same technique employed on its big brother the X1900XT however the X1600xt just doesn't have the sheer power to begin with to make use of the increased ALU's.

I would would highly reccomend something like the X800GTO16 or a Nvidia 6800GS both of which are around the same price.

 

[ACESHIGH]

To me it seems the X800XL and GTO cards are much better value for móney than the new X1600XT.
Main argument would be that the X1600 only has a 128bit memory bus whereas the X800's have 256 which I believe outweighs the faster clock speeds of the X1600.

True. I posted this exact same thing in another thread.

Best buys IMO...
PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 GTO16 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-055-PC) £123.32 Including VAT

or

PowerColor ATI Radeon X850 XT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-037-PC) £146.82 Including VAT